A brief overview of the prophet Nehemiah as recorded in The Bible Brief Bible summary book
When Nehemiah was written:
Not certain, but around 450 B.C.
Who:
Generally considered to be Ezra and Nehemiah.
People & Places:
Ezra; Artaxerxes; Nehemiah
Judah; Jerusalem; Persia
Sound-Bites:
They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.”
“When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days. “(Ch1:3-4)
“So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.” (Ch.4:6)
“So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.” (Ch.6:15-16)
The Messianic Link:
The Messiah is typified in the person and ministry of Nehemiah—the re-builder of the walls.
The Book in brief:
Nehemiah begins where Ezra left off, with the continuation of the return, and (for his part) the re-building of the walls of Jerusalem; after a plea from the inhabitants. Nehemiah manages to counter the plots by the locals to prevent building, and instead completes the walls in only 52 days (Ch.6:15).
Chapter 8 sees the feast of booths restored, and a return to true worship as the people confess their sins (Ch.9) and gather together to sign a new Covenant with the Lord (Ch.10), as Nehemiah sets up a round of reforms designed to bring the people into line.
Notes & Quotes:
Nehemiah was not only a deeply spiritual man, he was also a realist; just the sort of man The Lord needed at that time to bring the people back to true worship.
Nehemiah prayed for success and protection whilst he was building—but also saw to it that the builders were protected by armed guards! It’s called Faith in Action. (Ch.4:9)
Hard work coupled by prayer is a potent weapon against the wiles of the enemy who would seek to discourage and destroy us, or our efforts to worship the Lord. Prayer first—to seek God’s will—then hard graft to complete his wishes; is a potent force no matter what the circumstance.
